How This Happened
by Kali Cephirot
Summary: After meeting Jennifer, Souma was certain that nothing was ever going to be the same again. [Shibuya SoumaJenniferMiko]


**How This Happened.**

"Thiiiiiieeeeeef! My purse!" a woman screamed, a robust man running away as fast as he could, pushing people away as he kept the purse tight against his chest. "Heeeeelp!"

Shibuya Souma suffered (and he knew this) from a sad case of reacting before he thought things over. He heard the scream, saw the man, and he dropped his own suitcase, screamed an "EXCUSE ME!" to the Maou (_the Maou._ Oh, he was going to be lucky if he got any kind of job again after that) and ran behind the thief, screaming at him to stop.

But soon he realized he wasn't the only one following the criminal. He turned a moment to his side and noticed a pretty young woman running just as fast as he was (and, mind you, she was wearing heels), also screaming to the thief, although perhaps she was doing it with a slightly more altisonant language than his.

The young woman turned towards him and smiled a moment as if they were just sprinting in Massachussets for fun instead of chasing a criminal, before speeding a bit more, picking a can from the floor with uncany reflexes and throwing it towards the thief, hitting him square on the head and then tackling him to the floor. While several people watched, gaping, how a petite Asian woman made sure the purse-thief begged for mercy, twisting the man's leg, Souma knew it.

He had fallen in love.

When the police arrived and the thief had confessed (including four other crimes, begging to the police to take him away from the crazy), and the woman that almost lost her purse was reunited with it; he had finally managed to adjust his jaw to be attached to the rest of his skull, walking towards the two women slowly.

"It's okay!" The Japanese woman said, her English barely hinting a bit of an accent. "We women must take care of each other!"

"I don't know how to thank you..."

"You just did, don't worry." the woman assured, a giggle over her voice. Souma admired the fact that for all they had run and the tackling a man twenty-pounds-heavier-and-at-least-six-inches-taller, she was barely sweating, waving a cheerful goodbye to the other woman.

"Eh... excuse me..."

And then, before he realized what had happened, the woman he was pretty certain he had fallen in love at first sight was looking at him, holding his hand.

"You were so cool!" The woman squealed, her big brown eyes sparkling, her small white hands squeezing his as she looked up to him. "And I thought that there were no gentleman left! The way you ran was so... heroic!"

Despite the fact that he hadn't done a thing, Souma felt himself blush, taking a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Oh, it wasn't that... I mean, you did all the job, miss..." And yes, it might be the cheapest way to learn her name without seeming crazy, but Souma didn't particulary care.

"Miko. But call me Jennifer." she said in the same breath, her eyes still sparkling, not even giving him the chance to wonder about the names. "It doesn't matter! You risked your life for someone you didn't know! Just like a knight! What's your name?"

He blinked again. Well, he couldn't complain how things were going, right?

"Shibuya Souma, Jennifer-san."

She giggled, a warm smile taking over her face.

"Just Jen, please, Shibuya-san!" he was just nodding, about to interrupt her to tell her that she should call him just Souma when she gasped, hands over her face. "Oh no! I'm late!"

"What's the matter?"

Jennifer sighed. "Moou... I was going to the movies with some friends, but I got a bit behind because I was watching some adorable little angels and then the thief...!"

"I'm sure you could still make it." Souma offered, deciding to be daring while he reached to softly touch her shoulder. "Do you want me to go with you?"

The woman sighed before looking up at him, the smile back on her face. "No, Shibuya-san, it's okay! I always end up drifting apart from my group, they're used to it! I think I'll just walk back to the dorms."

Again, the same mania about launching himself without measuring the risks took the best of him; this time he couldn't say he minded it so much. Maou be damned, this was a situation of life or death. This woman very well could be the future mother of his children.

"Then, can I walk you to your dorm?" He smiled, hoping he actually managed to look dashing and daring, and not geeky and nervous. "A pretty lady like you shouldn't walk alone."

Jennifer giggled again, but Souma noticed a soft blush over her face. Then she smiled up towards him, tilting her head a bit.

"With one condition!"

"Yes?"

And the sparkling eyes were back, widening into something a puppy would have troubles fighting over.

"Can I call you Sou-chan?"

When he had been just a young Mazoku, the aunt he had kind of didn't like visiting had always called him that, to a point where he had grown to hate it. But just as he was going to say he'd rather not, Jennifer's eyes turned even sparklier and they widened.

And, really, having Jennifer call him that wasn't that bad, actually.

"Of course, Jen."

Souma was pretty much certain that the young woman's squeal of delight, and the way she immediately took his arm while they started walking would be more than enough to overcome old memories.

"I spent a lovely evening, Sou-chan." Jen told him when they finally made it back to her college dorms. In something Souma didn't completely understand, the usual thirty minutes walk had turned to stopping to buy some hotdogs and soda, then ice cream, then walking around the shops, all the time talking about their families and life in Japan and now in the States, and just after six hours of having met the woman, she probably knew more about him than most of his friends.

Souma got the feeling he probably should feel exhausted, but he did not. If anything, he felt some kind of rush he usually didn't get. He smiled at Jennifer, stuffing his hands over his trousers' pockets, his suit jacket draped over her shoulders.

"Me too, Jennifer. Hey, I was thinking... if you're free tomorrow, maybe we could..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sou-chan, I can't!" Jennifer looked as sad at these news as he did, but then she brightened almost immediately. "I know! See, I'm having a fencing match tomorrow, well, not only me, the whole team is, but you could come! It's going to be here in the Campus, and after that I'm most definitely free!" Jen said, giving a final decisive nod after that. "If you've time, Sou-chan? 2-ish? I mean, it starts at 3:00 pm, but since it's kind of an important match, if you want to get good sits you should be earlier!"

Seeing as he was most probably jobless by now anyway, Souma nodded, giving him a smile. "I'm free. Oh, here, my card... my phone, if, you know..."

Jen took the card, holding it against her chest and Souma had a moment to wonder what to do, since all the day hadn't really been a date at all (he would have to spend a lot of time trying to work the last six hours), but then Jen took a step closer to him.

"And you know where I live." Jen giggled a bit. "Well, good night, Sou-chan!"

And Jen stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek before walking inside her dorms, giving him a small wave before she disappeared through the doors.

Taking a hand over the cheek she had kissed, Souma walked on a daze for a few blocks as he tried to process his thoughts, failing completely. The only thing he was certain of was that nothing was going to be the same again, and that _that_ could be both the greatest and scariest thing that had ever happened in his life... and that he had left Jen his jacket, which had his house keys.


End file.
